by R Cavanaugh
“I’m sure that they will find our story most interesting,” Constance whispered.
Jonathan nodded and walked back toward her.
“However, if I were you,” she said, looking up at him, “I would be more worried about her than them.”
It was with those words that they were pulled into a silence. They, nor Igneous nor Exotius, would realize until later that day that Rachel MacNeil had escaped the trasicore. She had done so by using the dagger she had stolen from Exotius’s belt to kill it once out of sight. The egg would be found broken in the creature’s severed tentacle, and neither she nor her cat Damien could be found in the enclosure.
Chapter 27
The Discoveries
The Forest of Promise, RTET Camp
Since the adventure to the island she now knew to be called the Island of Destinies, Rose had greatly improved in many ways. The unicorn known as Nightsky seemed to give to her the confidence she lacked. Something else had come about, too; when trying to heal her, Nightsky had inadvertently given Rose the abilities she had lacked before. Not only that, but she had awakened an age-old magic that existed in the family’s bloodline.
Rose could now shoot an arrow expertly and even manipulate it to hit the intended target when it went off course just by using her eyes. Her swordsmanship had come a long way in the few days she had been back. She was starting to defeat some of the best of them.
“You always had it in you,” Nightsky kept telling her, but Rose had a funny feeling that Nightsky had something to do with it.
The most amazing thing that had come to pass, in Rose’s mind at least, was that she could now run incredibly fast and was able to catch up to Nightsky without issue and then jump onto her back at a breakneck pace.
“Rose.” Nightsky was pulling her out of her thoughts and back to the world. “Rose, we need to go and meet James for your match with him.”
“Coming,” she called back and pulled her boots on and pulled up her hair, holding it in place by putting a dagger through it. She was still using a borrowed sword and armor but was assured by everyone, from Vengeance and Nightmare to Devin and Orpheus his white lizard, that her armor would soon be ready.
“Are you excited?” Nightsky asked as she walked toward the field with Rose.
“I’m nervous,” Rose replied and gave Nightsky a quick smile.
“That’s good.” She nodded, “It means that you are at least understanding the importance of today’s exercise.”
Rose didn’t need to understand that; she already knew it. Today she was leading a small group of people and their animals in a battle against James and his group. They were using special swords and equipment so that no one would get more than a bruise.
“I need to win today,” Rose said nervously.
“Yes, to prove you are worthy of these people who are willing to follow you.”
“But I won’t kill people, Nightsky.” Rose said firmly, “I will do everything else, but I can’t kill. It is wrong, and my father was firmly against it.”
“I will help you there, then,” she said calmly, walking onto the field they were about to fight on, “for I have no issue with killing those who could and would kill our people.”
Rose sighed and saw her army waiting for her. She had been fortunate enough to get some very good fighters on her side. Topaz and her golden raven, Thomas, stood there with Aphra and her sapphire fox, Siren. She had gotten Devin and Orpheus, as well as Vengeance and Nightmare.
On James’s team, as she had deemed it, were some real challengers, though. He had Evan and Allegiance, Don, Liam, Courage, Don’s black hippogriff, and Enigma. He also had Marina Griffen, who it seemed was quite a fighter herself, and her crimson Cocker Spaniel, Comis, was a scrapper, to say the very least.
“Ready, Rose?” came Devin’s voice across the field.
She gave a curt nod and started to the front of her group. There was a lot more pressure than she had expected, as she noticed the entirety of the camp had come to watch the mock battle.
“Nightsky.” This was the voice of a young man holding a saddle to put on her. “I’m ready for you.”
“I don’t want to wear that,” Nightsky said coolly. “That is made for a horse, which I am not.”
“It’s fine,” Rose said to the young man and took her place beside Devin and Nightsky. Orpheus was next to Devin and, being a lizard of pure white, he stood out just a tad.
“Are you ready for this?” Orpheus croaked at her.
She only had the ability to nod; speech was far out of the question. She looked at James. He just looked so right on Valor, covered in his own armor and holding his sword.
“Now, Rose,” came the voice of Siren just behind her, “just focus on your intended target and leave the rest to us. Don’t lose focus.”
“OK.”
“Ladies and gentlemen.” It was the voice of Pricilla Griffen speaking now. “Please keep a safe distance from the field, as this training exercise commences in three…two…”
The sound of Pricilla saying one was lost in the cries of the people charging on the field.
Rose was running toward James next to Nightsky when she realized she had forgotten her sword in her tent.
“Get ready to jump,” Nightsky called from over the roar.
Rose maintained her focus and was trying to keep her panic in check. Then, just as they were about to reach James, she jumped onto Nightsky’s back and felt a strange sensation.
“What the…” Rose watched as they jumped through a fiery circle that surrounded and enveloped them both for the briefest of seconds. When they emerged she was covered in solid black armor and so was Nightsky, who now wore a saddle specially fitted to her. Rose found in her hand a sword with a black blade and a very decorative handle. The shield that was attached to the saddle had a winged unicorn standing behind a rose, which had thorns upon it.
“Now we’re ready!” Nightsky cried and charged forward with renewed force.
Rose raised her sword and sent James flying off Valor as he avoided her blow. She then leaped onto the ground to fight him while Nightsky kept Valor busy.
He pulled out his sword and charged her, and she readied herself for a fight she wasn’t sure she could truly win.
They sent equal blows at each other that shook their whole bodies. He made a move at her head, which she ducked and counterattacked by swinging at his legs.
“Erg!” James groaned, which meant she had got him and that he would have a good bruise there now.
His fighting began to intensify, and she parried his moves but got stuck in the arm and leg in her efforts to get him. Then he knocked her sword out of her hands. She ducked and jolted out of his way, even jumped a couple of times before stepping on his sword and elbowing him in the face.
“Aw!” he cried out and kicked her leg, sending her to the ground.
“Arg!” It was her turn to groan in effort to keep in the fight. She then used her foot to trip him and get him to the ground. She reached for her sword a mere foot away, but James grabbed her leg and pulled. She kicked him, and he let go.
Scrambling to her feet, she grabbed her sword, and before he could get up, she placed it above his chest and said,
“Yield!”
“Stop!” James cried, and his whole army stopped and saw where he was. They had shock and a pleasant form of surprise all over their faces.
“I yield,” James said, and he smiled up at her.
“Good,” Rose panted and grinned, “because I’m exhausted.”
He laughed and allowed her to help him up to his feet.
“Great job,” Valor called at her as he and Nightsky trotted over to them.
“Yes, very well done, Rose,” Topaz and Aphra said, hugging her for the first time and smiling. Thomas and Siren nodded in agreement.
“You ha
ve proven you are capable of doing what must be done,” Enigma growled, and Courage, Don’s black hippogriff, swished his tail and stared at her with brilliant gray eyes.
Allegiance and Nightmare were following Vengeance and Evan over to her.
“You did well,” Vengeance said shortly.
“But you should have just killed him,” Evan said coolly.
“Well you best send someone with me to do it,” Rose said just as coolly, and her eyes had gone electric, “because I am not a killer.”
“Rose,” James said, looking nervous and standing between them, “Evan, let’s just agree to disagree. OK?”
Evan just shook his head and walked off of the field, with Vengeance and their animals in tow.
“Nothing I do will impress him.” Rose scowled and then turned to look at James.
“Well,” he smiled and kissed her forehead, “you impressed me, and I’ll follow you anywhere.”
“Mr. Tungsten!” came a very high voice from near the tents. “Mr. Draughtningr! Come quick!”
The voice was that of a white, gold, and black cat, and everyone was now following it. They were led to the other side of the tents, toward the Pool of Hope, and there near the forest was the form of a female and a white cat beside her.
“Rachel!” Liam called and ran with Enigma close behind.
“Liam,” she smiled weakly as he reached her, “I’m so glad to see you’re safe.”
“Damien,” Enigma said, “what happened?”
They all sat in a horrified silence as Damien told them of how he and Rachel infiltrated a secret room in the castle where the king was breeding trasicores. He told them of the terrors that came after both she and he were discovered. He then went into an explanation of the king’s ultimate plan to search the castle for the tiara.
“We wouldn’t have made it if it hadn’t been for Indifferens,” Rachel said hoarsely. “He had found us two days ago and showed us the quickest route here.”
“Indifferens?” Rose asked, full of curiosity.
“You called?” came a slow voice, and Rose turned to see the cat that had alerted them to Rachel and Damien’s arrival.
“Hey,” Orpheus said, clambering between feet to get to the cat, “aren’t you Traymeda’s cat?”
There were murmurs of agreement and lots of curious eyes straining to get a better look.
“I was,” he purred softly.
“What do you mean by that?”
“Jasmine Traymeda,” he said slowly with no emotion, sitting down onto his hind legs, “is now dead. Killed by the king and Exotius Obscurum. They have seen the map and know that the tiara is not in the outside world.”
“What are you saying?” Siren said coolly, her fur bristling.
“I’m saying,” he continued and began to clean his left forepaw, “that you are all doomed.”
He finished cleaning his paw, and once finished he stood up, stretched, and began to walk away from the crowd. He continued to walk without a second look back, leaving them all in a state of shock.
“Evan.” Rachel was trying to sit up, and her speech was strained. “He has a huge army. He is putting it in place right now. We have to act soon.”
“We don’t have the tiara though,” he said, kicking the grass, his hands on his hips as he stared at the sky.
“Without it no one will rally to our cause,” Aphra said gloomily.
“Not to mention,” Don said coldly, “if we are caught, he may use us in a way similar to Rachel.”
“We just need to stay calm for now,” Rose said aloud and was just as shocked as those around her to hear how calm she sounded.
“She’s right,” Topaz said, her raven on her shoulder. “We can only make a plan of action if we are calm.”
“I think we should all get some rest and let Rachel do the same,” Rose said, surprising herself yet again and starting back to her own tent.
Chapter 28
Hail Rose
Camp RTET, Rose’s Tent
Rose was sulking and couldn’t help but feel completely and utterly miserable about what she had just heard.
This Igneous person seemed to be two steps ahead of them. First, he seemed to know that they were preparing for a fight. Second, he had a huge army to fight them with. And lastly, and more importantly, she thought, he knew where that stupid but important tiara was.
“Rose.” It was Nightsky, and she was sticking her head through the flap secluding Rose from the rest of the tent.
“Hey,” Rose said kindly, though in a sort of heavy way, and went over to let her in.
“What do you think of Indifferens’s story?”
“I think that he is telling the truth,” Rose sighed and went over to her desk where her sword now lay, “I wish he wasn’t, but I believe he is.”
“I hope he falls in a river,” Nightsky whinnied and shook her head while flicking her tail. She even stomped one of her hooves to show her anger and frustration.
“That is not nice,” Rose said harshly and looked into the unicorn’s eyes to see the frustration.
“We’ll figure this out somehow,” Rose said halfheartedly.
“Yes,” Nightsky said coolly, “with no help from Mister Know-It-All either.”
With that Nightsky sat down next to Rose, near the desk, and watched as she examined her new sword. It was incredible, and despite the fact that it should be dented after the fight she just had, it wasn’t. It was still in perfect shape and was sleek and very decorative. The handle had an emerald set in the center of the pommel. Silver inlay worked its way up from the emerald in thin lines along the grip and looked like a stem of a rose with thorns growing off it. It had a small cross guard, and in its center was a very intricately carved silver rose, with leaves completing the right and left sides of the cross guard. The black blade continued the pattern of roses and thorns.
Its black surface had a rose nearest the hilt and a vine with thorns thinning closest to the tip. It just wasn’t your average weapon. To top it all off, it was so light that she could hold it in one hand, something she could have never done with the one she had been using.
Along with the sword and shield, Nightsky’s saddle had come with a bow and a quiver of arrows that seemed to replenish itself at the end of a battle.
“Well, I guess today isn’t a total loss,” Rose said, holding the sword in both hands, an end in each.
“No,” Nightsky replied, “now you and I are well equipped, and Spirorahd Eontach seems a good fit for you.”
“Say what?” Rose said, shocked at what she thought she had heard Nightsky say.
“Spirorahd Eontach,” Nightsky said and jolted her head at the sword as she continued, “your new sword’s name.”
“Does that mean anything?” Rose whispered, taking even more care now that she knew that this was indeed a unique weapon.
“Of course,” Nightsky said in a shocked voice, “it means ‘Of Great Spirit’ in Aquamarinian.”
“OK.” Rose said quickly and saw that Nightsky was breathing very heavily.
They all seemed to forget that she hadn’t been raised here and therefore didn’t know much about the old language. Sighing, she lay the sword carefully on her desk. This act of respect seemed to cause Nightsky to relax some.
“This whole organization needs to pull itself together, or I’m going to flip.”
James had just appeared from the other side of the flap and was clearly pissed off about something.
“What is it?” Nightsky asked somewhat calmly, though she was clearly still upset by Indifferens uncaring attitude.
“Oh, you know,” James said, pacing and throwing up his hands, “people are freaking out. They’re saying that it is over. That the king has won before we have even started. People are even discussing how to turn ourselves in, in a manner that will allow most o
f us to live.”
“But he hasn’t yet,” Rose said carefully, “has he?”
“No!”
“OK! No need to shout!” Rose too had raised her voice.
“Well I’m frustrated!” he hollered back.
“I can tell!”
“Would both of you stop, please?” It was Valor who brought them back into focus.
“Sorry, Rose,” he said softly, but the heat was still in his face, and he was still fidgeting.
“Me too.” She was a little curt, though, in her response.
Rose, who hadn’t realized it at the time, found herself standing and decided to sit back down. He continued to pace for a few more minutes but eventually sat down on her cot and stared at the ground. They sat there in silence for a while, he on her cot and she at her desk, continuing to examine her sword.
However, her mind was not on the sword, as beautiful as it was, but on him and how he was driving her crazy right now. She was trying to decide if she wanted to kiss him when he got up and walked over to her. And before she knew what was happening, they were in one long, slow kiss. She stood up, and his arms wrapped around her, and she placed one arm around his neck and ran a hand through his hair.
“I missed you so much,” he whispered in her ear, kissing the base of her neck and running his hands down her back.
“Me too,” she whispered back, barely breathing.
Then, as he took a step back, he tripped and fell on the cot, with her falling on top of him, sending her bag and all of its contents flying.
“Rose!” Nightsky cried, having been awoken from a doze she had fallen into.
“James, are you hurt?” Valor said, coming in from the other side of the flap.
He must have left at some point, and we hadn’t noticed, Rose thought.
“What?” said James, smiling. They really hadn’t noticed much due to the fact that they were still entangled in each other’s arms and she was giggling slightly.
“I’m perfect,” Rose said dreamily and watched as James smiled up at her.